'High as a Kite' is a collective art project to be part of the 2011 'Northern Exposure' festival. Here we will document our creative process leading up to the exciting event! For more information about Northern Exposure visit www.highstreetnorthcote.com.au

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Sunday, 15 May 2011

Tovah: When we decided to do this project, we agreed for a theme that was in the clouds or sky. We chose the name 'High as a Kite', as it melds together perfectly the concept of being in the sky along with the name of the street where the project will be seen: High Street.

As a group of avid crafters, we wanted to create an installation using the various different medias that we use. Between us we origami, knit, crochet, sew, felt and sculpt - just to name a few! We wanted to make something whimsical and fanciful; a magical land in the sky! But we weren't sure how to do this until we saw the space we could use.

We have been paired up with the Northcote Westpac bank and we wanted to find the dimensions of the window so that we could begin planning the structure and layout of the installation.

We showed up at the bank with a measuring tape and our iphones and (feeling a little like criminals getting ready for a heist), we measured, jotted down some numbers and took some photos of the front.

The space is quite large and has great exposure due to a tram stop being directly out the front.

Looking at the window gave us a sense of purpose and starting cementing ideas in our mind. We decided to build a platform with a frame and so went and salvaged some old pallets from the warehouse where I work, along with a few other discarded objects that we thought we could incorporate into the project.

We were inspired by Enid Blyton's 'Magic Faraway Tree' story in which if you climb to the top of a giant, magical tree you will come out through a hole in the clouds and discover a different land. Borrowing that idea, we have decided to create a cloudy platform with a tree coming through a hole into the magical world above the clouds. Our world will be populated by creatures that have sprung from our minds to our hands - flying monkeys, porcelain clouds and mountains and of course kites! Our aim is to let the project grow organically and hopefully our ideas will graft together to become a whole.